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Few days ago I found on You Tube this strange Japanese presentation for children, titled Nuclear Boy, trying to explain the nuclear accident in Fukushima ‘s reactors.

We are witnessing here a peculiarly Japanese way to handle problems. Hopefully it might help to appease the understandable anxiety of Japanese children.

The same day, in the morning, I had a conversation with a couple of young girls while traveling in the country school bus to work. They usually do not talk to me, often the only adult in the bus, and they surprised me by asking direct questions concerning the Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. They seemed anxious to discuss these events, after seeing the devastation in TV. They were looking for answers.

Perhaps we underestimate the impact such news have on children, when such terrible images are presented, over and over again, on television screens.

This cartoon clip is just one way to approach a very difficult topic. Children need to be informed without being spooked.

Continuing my study of the Chilean massive earthquake I have found some uncanny similarities between the Charts of this event and the Chart of the recent (January 12) Haiti’s disaster. Below are the Charts for the two events side by side, with their respective aspects and also their mutual aspects.

Click to enlarge

One similarity I have already discussed in my previous post, regards the positions of the Lunar Nodes, aligned to the Horizon in both localities at the time of the earthquakes: the Cancer South Node was rising near the Ascendant in Haiti, and setting near the Descendant in Chile. The opposite, of course, was true of the Capricorn North Node, rising in Chile and setting in Haiti. The difference here is that the North Node was also conjunct the Sun in Haiti, due to the closeness to the Solar Eclipse, which occurred only three days later, while in Chile the Nodes are closer to the Ascendant/Descendant axis. In both Charts however the prominent positions of the Nodes shows a strong link with the recent Eclipses (Lunar, on December 31, 2009, and Solar, on January 15, 2010). The Nodes reversed positions imply that the Ascendant-Descendant Signs are also mirroring each other.

And if this wasn’t enough of a coincidence, this mirror-image effect is then repeated in other ways: Saturn for a start, was conjunct the Mid-Heaven at the time of the Chile’s event and the Lower-Heaven during the Haiti’s earthquake, opposite and complementary Angles, implying that the Meridian axis was also mirrored from one Chart to the other: Aries was on the Mid-Heaven in Haiti and on the Lower-Heaven in Chile.The most remarkable thing here is that such positions last only a few minutes, in any given place, during the 24 hours rotation of the Earth on her axis!

Continuing with Saturn, this planet’s important square aspect to transiting Pluto was closer to exactness during the Haiti’s event, active within one degree (0°56′, to be precise), while was separated by 02° during the Chile’s earthquake, therefore not as strong and destructive.

Talking about Pluto, this planet too occupies opposite and complementary places in the two Horoscopes, in the Sixth House in Haiti and the Twelfth in Chile. Very remarkable, both sectors traditionally considered particularly karmic in any Horoscope.

I also noticed that Mercury plays the part of the activator (role that befits the messenger of the Gods really well) in both the Haiti and Chile’s Horoscopes: in Haiti is closely conjunct Pluto in Capricorn and therefore in square to Saturn in Libra; while in Chile it is very close conjunct Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius and widely opposed by the Moon in Leo.

Another thing that can be considered remarkable is that the Sun during the day of the Haiti’s earthquake happened to be conjunct Venus in Capricorn, while it was conjunct Jupiter in Pisces during the Chilean event. So much so for the blissful and fortunate transits of the two traditional ‘Benefics’! Venus was also in aspect to Uranus in both Charts, sextile Uranus in Haiti and applying conjunct Uranus in Chile.

In this second post about Chile’s earthquake I would like to study the chart of the event itself, calculated with the coordinates of the epicentre (35 S 50 – 72 W 43). Below is the Chart, for February 27, 3.34 am (Chile Day Light Saving Time), the time the massive earthquake struck:

Click to enlarge

As I pointed out in my previous post, the Nodes of the Moon are aligned here to the horizon at the time and place of the earthquake (the North Node in Capricorn on the Ascendant and the South Node in Cancer on the Descendant). In the recent big event in Haiti the Nodes were also aligned to the local horizon, but in the reverse order (South Node on Ascendant, North Node on Descendant).

The Lunar Nodes represent the axis of destiny in every Chart (person or event). When they are highlighted in transit they trigger important events that influence the destiny of a person, or, as in the case of a mundane Chart like this one, of many individuals.

The South Node (Cauda Draconis, the Dragon’s Tail) is traditionally considered more difficult, dealing with what of the past we need to move away from, in order to grow. The North Node (Caput Draconis, Dragon’s Head) is less difficult, dealing with the future and growth of consciousness. Certainly this last event in Chile, horrible as it has been, is not comparable to the devastation that occurred in Haiti, where the dead toll has risen to about 220.000. In this case then the Nodes have confirmed the nature traditionally ascribed to them.

There are many scientific and social reasons for the more confined effect of the Chilean earthquake, despite the fact that it has been estimated to be 500 times stronger than the Haiti’s one: the quake in Chile occurred 34 km underground, while the Haiti’s earthquake was much closer to the earth’s surface, a mere 13 km. Also in Haiti the epicenter was very close to the very populated city of Port-au-Prince, while the closest city to the Chilean epicenter was Concepcion, 115 km away. And Chile is a much more prosperous country than Haiti and also much better prepared for earthquakes, because in Chile these events are more frequent.

The transiting Moon in Leo, at the time of Chile’s quake, was in the local Eight House, the sector in every horoscope that deals with death and loss. And, in an Event Chart such as this, the Moon represents the common people, going about their everyday business. The Moon is also applying widely to an opposition to the three Planets conjunct in Aquarius, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron. Mercury has in fact reached the conjunction to Neptune and Chiron just on the day of the quake. The event happened under the sea’s floor (Neptune rules our Planet’s oceans) and caused a wide spread tsunami alert for countries as far away as Japan and Australia.

So it seems that Mercury, messenger of the Gods, acted as a catalyst for the release of the Neptunian and Chironic energies. The conjunction Neptune Chiron, still very close to exactness and remaining active until early next year, is one with great potential for healing, but also for unwarranted pain and suffering, on a massive scale. I did found also interesting that these three planets are all on the 26th degree of Aquarius, 90 degrees away (square or difficult angle) to Algol, the star depicted as the head of Medusa, the same that had such a connection with the Haiti’s event (post on Medusa and the Haiti’s earthquake).

To return to the transiting Moon in Leo, our Lady of the Night is also the apex of a Yod, a well known astrological configuration, called by some the Finger of God, with Venus and the Ascendant at the other angles (both 150 degrees, a quincunx aspect, away from the Moon) and in sextile aspect (60 degrees) to each other. Yods are said to represent crisis of self-awareness, when we need to repeat certain experiences in order to gather their spiritual essence. To me this configuration seems mainly positive and could be a symbol of the fact that the devastation could have been a lot worse if the people hadn’t been prepared by previous experiences and well equipped to deal with such emergencies.To be noted too is the fact that Venus is in positive aspect to the transiting Nodes (trine and sextile), another positive testimony. The Moon and the Eight House in Leo are ruled by the Sun (Ruler of Leo) in Pisces, enhancing the importance of the Eight House’s affairs in this Horoscope (for House tutorial, click here).

Another powerful and obvious influence in this Chart is the culmination of Saturn, here the most elevated planet of the lot, and ruling the whole Chart because Capricorn, Saturn’s own Sign, is on the Ascendant. Life is not easy when Saturn occupies this powerful angle. The limitations and restrictions imposed by the Lord of Karma come to the fore when Saturn happens to dominate the Horoscope in this way. Also the giant ringed planet exerts a more powerful pull while crossing any place’s meridian, as it has been proved by this event. Furthermore the Moon in the House of Death and Loss is in semi-square (45 degrees away from) to Saturn and the Mid-heaven to which Saturn is conjunct. And we shouldn’t forget that the square Saturn-Pluto, exact earlier this year, is still fairly active (only 2 degrees away from exactness) and due to become exact again this year (see my 2010 Forecasts articles). This is one of the most difficult transit of the whole year. Pluto, in the Chile’s earthquake Chart, is transiting the Twelfth House of Fate and Self-undoing, indicating hopelessness in the face of events more powerful than any individual or group. Acceptance of fate, building resilience and character are the hard-earned benefits of the close contact of these two difficult planetary energies.

Last, but certainly not least, the Sun is applying to a conjunction to transiting Jupiter, a yearly event, just on the day of the earthquake! Despite many controversies surrounding the subject, giant Jupiter is considered by many to have an extremely powerful effect on seismic and volcanic activities on our planet. The close conjunction (alignment in longitude along the earth’s ecliptic or orbit) seems to confirm the ancient astrological lore about Jupiter.

The Chilean earthquake occurred the day before the Full Moon (at around 3.34 am, local Day Light Saving Time, on February 27, while the Moon became Full at 1.37 pm, the next day, February 28, 2010).

The death toll has risen, at the time of writing (Monday morning, Eastern Australian Time) to over 700, but many more people remain unaccounted for. It will take years to repair the widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructures.

This earthquake seems to confirm one of our ancient astrological tenets: that the phases of the Moon are linked to many phenomena on our blue planet, including the inception of powerful earth tremors. Many authors dispute in fact that it is not just Eclipses (always occurring either at New or Full Moon) that seem to trigger earthquakes (as in the case of the Haiti’s disaster), but also the common phases often bear the signatures of natural disasters, if other transits occurring around the time of the phase, concur with this possibility.This is the case for Chile, due to the planetary alignments (conjunctions) that happened on the same day: Mercury-Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius, and the Sun-Jupiter in Pisces.

All these Planets and the Sun were positioned in the midnight House of Chile’s Birth Chart, exerting a powerful pull on Chile from under the earth and sea, the Midnight or Fourth House indicating all that is below the earth and hidden from view. The approaching Full Moon has augmented even more the power of the planetary alignment during this 8.8 magnitude event, one of the most powerful ever recorded.

Notice how Pluto, at 05 degrees Capricorn, is forming a 90 degrees right angle with Chile Birth Chart’s Lunar Nodes, the axis of destiny in every chart. Pluto is often the harbinger of upheavals of all sorts, and sometimes mass deaths. And also how the transiting Moon in Leo has just past the Upper Meridian of the earthquake’s zone, the most elevated point at that latitude, this time of the year. The Moon then becomes very powerful, waxing near full, and the most elevated body in Chile’s Horoscope. The Moon rules Cancer that, in Chile’s Birth Chart, occupies the Eighth House of loss and death, the sector corresponding to Scorpio and Pluto.

As you can see the natal (Birth Chart) Moon of Chile was conjunct Jupiter. I find it very interesting that both the Moon and Jupiter were very active in transit at the time of the earthquake, as if their effect combined were part of the destiny of Chile. Jupiter is, after all, the Ruling Planet of Chile’s Birth Chart, with its Ascendant in Sagittarius. The Moon conjunct Jupiter becomes therefore a sort of co-ruler. Their combined power is a destiny maker for Chile.

The closest aspect (0 degree orb) is a trine between the transiting Jupiter in Pisces and Chiles’ Birth Venus in Scorpio (conjunct Uranus in the XII House), showing how there is no difference really between the traditionally positive and negative aspects, an angle with Jupiter always representing a tendency to expand and make everything bigger, for good or ill. The position of Venus and Uranus in the House of self-undoing (in Chile’s Birth Chart) indicates the tendency to be driven by events over which we have no conscious control. It is a very fated position and Jupiter acted like a trigger to activated it, in a sudden and explosive way (Uranus is also in the picture here in a big way, even if the aspect with Jupiter is not exact yet, because Venus works as a go-between them). Jupiter is also in square aspect to Chile’s Saturn in Sagittarius, a powerful applying aspect, between Angular Houses, the most active in any Horoscope. The importance of Saturn (the Earth Planet par excellence) is also undeniable in Chile’s Chart because is rising close to the Ascendant, covering even more ground because of its conjunction to Neptune (the Sea Planet).

There are many more close hits:

Transiting Uranus in Pisces was only 35 minutes in longitude past the opposition with Chile Birth Chart’s Sun in Virgo, an aspect that can occur only once in 84 years! Uranus is well-known for its destructive streak and the tendency to bring changes into our lives, to the willing and the unwilling alike. Applied to a National Chart this transit could bring about a revolution of some kind and the end of a stagnant and unproductive period.

The transiting Nodes are in semi-square and sesqui-square respectively to Chile’s Ascendant in Sagittarius and Mercury in Libra; these transits too are quite exact at the time of the earthquake, another signature for a destiny making moment for this nation.

One thing that impressed me in the Earthquake Chart itself is the fact that the Capricorn North Node of the Moon (squared by the transiting Pluto) is rising near the horizon at the time of the tremor, while the Cancer South Node is setting, the reversed picture of what occurred at the recent Haiti’s earthquake, when the South Node was rising just below the Ascendant, and the North Node was setting! If interested, below are links to the four posts I wrote for Haiti:

The Fixed Stars make a fascinating study. Their stories are the often broken and many times mended remains of the ancient myths, beliefs and rituals that were important, even vital to our ancestors. They still resonate with us because they contain archetypal material we can all recognize and identify with.

Here I have collected, from my own data base and various other sources (see bottom of page), a short list of people and events whose Horoscopes are somehow connected with Algol, the Gorgon Head’s Star, beta of constellation Perseus, the Star that has proven so significant in the Astrology of the Haiti’s earthquake.

For a summary of Medusa’s story and an explanation of this Star’s dark reputation please refer to my previous post.

The list talks for itself, in most cases there is no need of further explanation.

I feel however that a word of warning is necessary here. The presence of Algol-Medusa over the Sun, Moon, or any Planet or Angle in someone’s Natal or Progressed Chart, or in a Chart cast for a specific event (wedding, holiday departure, purchase of land, court hearing, surgery, etc.) is not by itself a sign of gloom and doom. The entire Chart conjures a picture that is always complex and multilayered, and, like any other factor in a Horoscope, Fixed Stars should never be considered in isolation. The Haiti’s earthquake is a great example of this, because many factors contributed to the tragic outcome, and Algol didn’t just appear in one Chart, but in three separate Charts related to the event, always on sensitive points and only allowing tight orbs.

What seems to have conjured up the Haiti’s tragedy are a combination of massive planetary alignments, the blend of Eclipses and Fixed Stars and other very special quirks of fate, like the Lunar Eclipse occurring on Haiti’s Solar Return Birthday and Haiti’s seventh Saturn Return since independence active right at this time.

I feel this precautionary note is necessary because there is a real risk through the use of Fixed Stars to generate superstition and fears. The language and imagery that are associated with some of these asterisms are often dramatic and ominous. The same is true however of a lot of old fashion Astrology, with its accent on good and bad aspects, benefic and malefic Planets etc.

Algol-Medusa is a power Star and one that many can indeed wear as a badge of honour and charisma, and not a mark of doom or a sign of wickedness. It is described by modern astrologers Bernadette Brady and Diana Rosenberg as: feminine wisdom, creative power, consuming passion, intense sexuality; confrontation and then assimilation of the dark side of life and human nature.

I have considered squares and opposition from/to Algol/Medusa and not just conjunctions, as it is usually the rule with Fixed Stars, because they seem to be relevant in many cases. It is indeed possible, as Diana Rosenberg suggests, that other Stars are responsible for the effects we sometimes attributed to square and opposition from Algol. I included in this list also Capulus, the Star that represents the tip of Perseus’ Sword (the one that killed Medusa) because it is close to Algol and seems to be significant not just for the myth but for Astrology too.

LIST OF INDIVIDUALS

Agatha Christie: Capulus conjunct Mid-Heaven.

Albert Einstein: Algol conjunct Pluto.

Albrecht Durer: Algol conjunct Mid-heaven.

Alistair Crowley, occultist: Capulus conjunct Pluto.

Anastasia Romanov: Algol conjunct South Node.

Arthur Rubenstein: Algol conjunct Neptune.

Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s religious leader: Algol conjunct Sun.

Azaria Chamberlain: Algol in wide conjunction with the Moon (one and half degrees).

Bob Dylan: Algol conjunct Uranus.

Bob Dylan, Algol conjunct Uranus.

Brian Jones (first Rolling Stone): Algol conjunct Uranus.

Carl Gustav Yung: Algol conjunct Pluto.

Cecil B. De Mill: Algol conjunct Jupiter.

Che Guevara: Capulus conjunct Sun.

Christine Keller, a call girl, who was implicated in one of the deepest political scandals of the 1960s, the Profumo affairs (from the name of the then British Defence Minister): Algol conjunct Moon and Jupiter.

Elvis Presley: Algol square Saturn.

Evita Peron: Algol conjunct Sun and Capulus conjunct Mars.

Ezra Pound: Algol conjunct Neptune.

Grace Kelly: Algol opposition Mars.

Frank Kafka: Algol conjunct Mars.

George Bernard Shaw: Algol conjunct Uranus.

George Gurdjieff: Algol conjunct Neptune.

Henry Fonda: Algol conjunct Sun.

Hirohito, emperor of Japan when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed: Algol square Mars and in wide conjunction to South Node.

Marshall Herff Applewhite, cult leader who convinced 39 of his followers to commit mass suicide: Algol conjunct Sun and Capulus conjunct the Moon (born just before New Moon). This is one striking example!

Mata Hari: Algol conjunct Pluto.

Mick Jagger: Algol conjunct Moon.

Natalie Wood: Algol conjunct South Node.

Oliver Cromwell: Algol conjunct Mercury.

Pablo Picasso: Algol conjunct Jupiter.

Patrick Swayze: Algol square Sun and opposition Mars.

Prince William: Algol conjunct Venus, same as his mum, and also conjunct Chiron.

Ramakrishna: Algol conjunct North Node.

Richard Nixon: Algol conjunct Saturn.

Robert Hoppenheimer, reluctant father of the atomic bomb: Algol conjunct Mercury.

Saddam Hussein: Mercury conjunct Capulus, the sword of Perseus, and one degree from Algol.

And to become aware of an amazing coincidence (top synchronicity in action) please look up these astronomical sites too, because they describe a phenomenon, defined as a Magnetic Loop, emanating from the Binary Star Algol. This has been discovered only recently and was made public on the 14th of January, as far as I know, two days after the Haiti’s earthquake!

In this post I am again looking at the January 2010 Eclipses in their relation to the Haiti’s earthquake and its aftermath, but this time I’ll study each eclipse as one of a series.

All Eclipses are grouped under one specific number, known as their Saros number. This number indicates eclipses (Lunar or Solar) occurring around the same degree of the Zodiac. A Saros group begins with a particular eclipse, either Lunar or Solar. Other eclipses follow, at an interval of 18 years approximately, all falling around the same degree of longitude.

So, for instance, the Partial Lunar Eclipse of December 31 2009 belonged to the Saros number 115. This group of Lunar Eclipses began with one on April 21 1000 AD, 1010 years ago, the beginning of another Millennium.

The Eclipse that begins a series is said to give its colour, tone and vibration to the lot of them. Therefore it is very important to study the first Eclipse of a Saros series, especially when it is obviously linked to a major event, like the Haiti’s earthquake.

Below is the Chart of that ancient Eclipse, calculated for the Haiti coordinates in order to be relevant for that part of the world:

Click to enlarge

To a trained astrological eye this appears as a rather difficult Horoscope, interlaced by a Grand Cross in Fixed Signs (LINK to Aspects Tutorials), connecting The Sun in Taurus, conjunct the Ascendant, the Scorpio Moon, conjunct Pluto and the Descendant, Mars in Leo and also, in Haiti, the Aquarius Mid-Heaven and Leo Lower-Heaven, two very active angles in the Horoscope.

There is immense pent up energy in this configuration, with a strong tinge of violence and compulsion. Even without the eclipse this would have been a remarkable Full Moon! Sort of were-wolfish, passionate, deep, uncompromising, dangerous, wilful; suggesting war, blood, aggression, transformation, resentment, revengefulness, power struggles. To add to the intensity of this configuration Saturn is also transiting Taurus, the Sun Sign. This Sign is traditionally considered the most dangerous for seismic activities, because it is Earthy and because it is Fixed, resisting external pressure until something has to give. Both Taurus and its opposite-complementary Sign, Scorpio, were known as Violent Signs, and one of the reason was their connection to earth’s tremors.

MEDUSA’S HEAD

The most interesting Saturn’s feature is not however its challenging position in Taurus, nor the fact that it didn’t form any exact aspect with the other celestial bodies at the time of the Eclipse, often a negative connotation. But it is rather the specific degree the Planet was on, the same, in 1000 AD, as the Star Algol, beta of Constellation Perseus. This Star is considered to be one of the most powerful and potentially dangerous in the whole pantheon of Stars.

This Saturn-conjunction with Algol could have been enough to consider the Star a significant character in this Lunar Eclipses’ series. But there is more.

Algol re-appears in a very prominent place not only in the Lunar Eclipse of December 31 2009 (conjunct the Ascendant in Haiti and perfectly square transiting Jupiter), but also in the Solar Eclipse of January 15 2010 (conjunct the Descendant in Haiti and trine transiting Sun, Moon and Venus in Capricorn)!

Furthermore the present longitudes of Algol and Capulus, another Star belonging to the same constellation, are in opposition to Haiti Birth Chart’s Neptune, while Capulus was conjunct the Taurus Ascendant of the 1000 AD eclipse!

So it seems we need to look closely at this mysterious blinking object (a short period variable, orbiting with a dark companion that regularly eclipses it) and the constellation of Perseus to which these stars belong. They tell a marvellous and sorrowful story.

In the constellation of Perseus Algol represents the severed head of Medusa, dangling from the left hand of the Solar hero, who has just beheaded the monster. Capulus instead corresponds the point of the sword he has used to accomplish the deed, a phallic symbol of brute strength. From the region of Capulus every year in August sky-watchers can witness the Perseid meteor shower, moving parallel to Perseus’ raised arm and sword, and crossing the path of Algol, the Gorgon’s head.

The name Algol derives from the Arab Ra’s al Ghul, (from which the English word Ghoul derives), “the Demon’s Head”, and in the picture below has the face of a bearded man, an incarnation of the Devil.

According to Greek mythology, the one I’ll refer to in this post, Medusa (name meaning Queen or Mistress) was originally a beautiful woman, one of the many granddaughters of the Earth Goddess Gaia. While worshipping in a temple of Athena, she was raped by the Ocean god Poseidon (alias Neptune). This ‘transgression’ was severely punished by Athena; so that, for no fault of her own, Medusa was transformed into a Gorgon. She still had the body of a woman, while her head was covered with writhing serpents, and her limbs became the claws of a bird of prey and turned into brass. What was more frightening about Medusa however was her stare: one look from her sorrowful eyes and a man would be for ever turned into stone.

A great number of females, Goddesses, Nymphs, Witches and a Princess are taking part in this story and being instrumental in getting rid of Medusa; only to make sure her powers will be preserved in the armour of Athena, beloved daughter of Zeus, the supreme patriarchal god.

The metamorphosis of fair Medusa into a hideous monster and her demise at the hands of Perseus, the male hero, has been explained by many as the mythical re-enactment of the destruction of the Goddess Cult of Neolithic times. This occurred at the hands of Aryan and other warring tribes who worshipped male deities, and by 2000 BC had imposed their way of living and their religion on the native tribes of pre-historic Europe and the Middle East, worshipers of the Great Goddess since the dawn of time.

The cult of the One Mother Goddess was completely wiped out by around 600 BC, and survived only in myths and stories, while the power of the Godhead was gradually usurped by male deities. From them creation didn’t emerge spontaneously, like a baby from a mother womb and partaking of her substance, but was instead manufactured out of the elemental forces of chaos, where the ancient Goddess was soon relegated.

Medusa then is one incarnation amongst many of the Goddess creatrix, and Perseus one of her patriarchal slayers. The Goddess power is demonised in Medusa’s ugly person, as women lost their equality to men and their own powers of generation were demeaned and ultimately demonized.

We can discern a lot of ambivalence in the story of Medusa: for a start the legend of Medusa seems to be more ancient than the Perseus’ myth; the Goddess preceded the hero. Then Perseus succeeded in killing Medusa only through the help of Athena, herself a goddess, despite her masculine temperament, who gave him the mirror shield to vanquish Medusa (a symbol for the need of self-reflection when we try do deal with our inner demons). Other divine females were active characters in the legend; like the three Graeae sisters (grey or old ones), the witches from whom he extolled the secret of the Gorgons’ hiding place, or the Hesperides Nymphs, guardians of the Golden Apples of Immortality that grew in a grove at the edge of the world. They provided Perseus with Hades’ hat of invisibility without which he couldn’t have approached the Gorgons unseen.

Furthermore, at the end of the story, her severed head was amalgamated into the mirror shield of Athena, conferring on this warring and rather masculine Goddess some of the powers of the ancient Goddess. And Andromeda, the mythical damsel in distress, chained to a rock to be sacrificed to a Sea-Monster, enters the story too, when Perseus rescues her from sure death with the help of the winged horse Pegasus. This magical creature had sprang from the severed head of Medusa. Pegasus helped Perseus to escape the rightful rage of Medusa’s Gorgon sisters and eventually brought him and Andromeda home to safety. The winged horse represents all the beauty and power imprisoned in the Gorgon’s body, a symbol of transcendence and sublimation, liberated by the sword of Perseus. Eventually Pegasus was welcome into the Heavenly realms and chosen to pull Jupiter’s chariot.

Another proof of Medusa’s dual nature, at the same time divine and devilish, is that the very blood that gushed out of her neck was separated into two streams, one carrying lethal poisons that could be used to kill, and the other healing substances by which men could be healed instead.

The Star associated with this myth has however mainly a bad reputation and no surprise: just the rightful wrath of poor Medusa should be enough to make it into a formidable force.

Many scholarly studies on the effect of this Star are available to Astrology’s adepts and all seem to show a difficult if not completely negative influence, in both Natal and Mundane Horoscopes. The Haiti’s earthquake can now be added to the many case histories of natural and man-made disasters touched by the blinking eye of this mysterious Star.

In my own experience of Algol, in the charts of clients and famous individuals, I can say that its effect is not consistently negative, but it is often connected with traumatic experiences, often early in life, without any obvious fault on the part of the individual.

Algol is at her strongest though only when there are other astrological signatures to confirm the possibility of traumas and severe difficulties. Together with the difficulties however come strong resilience, resourcefulness and survival skills. Both men and women can experience the power of Medusa when they begin valuing their darkness, their secret feelings, their inner truths, the mysteries of their own psyche, the feminine within.

It is an amazing feeling to experience the synchronicity between some Fixed Stars and the stories clients bring to a consultation, or those of famous people or events one is studying (as in the case of Haiti).

Who can resist the thrill of discovering that lady Diana Spencer had Algol and Capulus (the head of Medusa and the sword Perseus used to cut it off) both conjunct her Venus? Shortly I will publish a list of events and also people who have a connection with Medusa and also with the Sword of Perseus (Capulus). It makes an interesting read.

After experiencing few of these meaningful coincidences I never fail now to look at my clients’ and friends aspects with the Fixed Stars, because the wealth of imagery they bring is worth the effort of learning something new and overcoming old prejudices.To just mention one of those coincidences: the transiting Moon is conjunct Medusa right now, as I’m ready to publish this post!

Scientifically oriented astrologers may find disagreeable working with Fixed Stars, because they seem to belong to an outdated and superstitious type of Astrology. To me the proof is in the pudding. Fixed Stars, in measure, work for me. I don’t stop and ask myself too many whys, or I would have to give up Astrology all together.

And here is the 1000 Lunar Eclipse around the 1804 Horoscope of Haiti’s Independence:

Click to enlarge

I have found valuable information on Medusa, and other subjects covered in this post, in:

There are many meaningful connections between these January 2010 Eclipses, the January 12 earthquake and Haiti’s Birth Chart of January 1804.

Arranging the four wheels together their many similarities become immediately apparent, while there are many more that unravel slowly as we really ‘look’.

In the picture below Haiti Birth Chart is the inner wheel, the Lunar Eclipse (December 31 2009) the second wheel from the centre, the Earthquake’s Chart the third wheel, and the Solar Eclipse (January 15) the outer wheel, in time sequence. All four Charts have been calculated with the coordinates and local time of Haiti.

Click picture to enlarge

While the similarity between the two Eclipses Charts and the Earthquake has to be expected, due to their closeness in time (just a couple of weeks, half a Moon’s cycle away from each other), it is indeed a strange coincidence that the Haiti’s Birth Chart (1804) should also show such a connection to these present events. The destiny of Haiti has been activated by these Eclipses, big time.

At the time of the Lunar Eclipse, symbolically opening the new year, the transiting Sun and Haiti’s own Sun were conjunct, meaning that Haiti was celebrating its birthday the day of the Eclipse, all birthday representing a new beginning. Because the Haiti’s Horoscope is cast for midnight, the Sun and the birthday transiting Sun are also conjunct the Lower Heaven, matrix of consciousness, from which emerges the umbilical cord of all existence and where fate is created. In the same position we have found Saturn at the moment the earthquake struck (see first post) and Jupiter during the Solar Eclipse of January 15. This is remarkable because the Lower-Heaven changes rapidly during the day and was in these positions only for a short time in each occasion. Also all these grouping around the Midnight point, the one below the horizon and under the Earth in all Horoscopes, conjure pictures of burial and underground places.

Between the Haiti’s Birth Charts and these Transits Charts a great number of celestial bodies are passing through Capricorn, confirming the ancient astrological tenets that Earth Signs are more likely to produce earth tremors than other Elements Signs, and that alignments in particular can disturb the balance in the gravitational field of the Earth, causing a great deal of pressure.

The celestial bodies involved in these multiple conjunctions, amongst all Charts considered, are: Pluto, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Chiron, the Sun, the Moon and the North Node.

A number of Planets transiting the Sign following Capricorn (the conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius, and Uranus in Pisces) also add to the weight of the Earth alignment.

Let’s consider for instance the outstanding example of transiting Pluto, conjunct Mars and Chiron in Haiti’s Birth Chart, Venus in the Lunar Eclipse Chart, Mercury and the Moon (wide orb) in the Earthquake’s Chart and still Mercury in the Solar Eclipse Chart, plus, of course, squaring the transiting Saturn as well as the Natal Saturn of Haiti. We can safely say that Pluto was prominent in transit on all three occasions. The transits of Pluto happen to transform things and people, to change things in a radical, sometimes violent way. This is the God of the Underworld demanding his share of the realm of life, eager to be acknowledged.

Looking a the transits from Saturn’s view point we notice the Lord of karma not only returned to Haiti’s birth position, but was also in square with Pluto, Mars-Chiron, Venus and Mercury between the three Transits Charts, apart from being conjunct Haiti’s Ascendant and square Haiti’s Meridian Axis (Mid-Heaven and Lower-heaven). So Saturn too was definitely prominent in transit on all three occasions. Saturn, in this instance wearing the ugly mask of the Grim Ripper he used to don in the Middle Ages, defines a karmic moment for Haiti, a grand scale reality check and traumatic coming of age. While Saturn is conjunct the Ascendant of Haiti, thus manifesting in the sad face Haiti is now presenting to the world, is actually still transiting the Twelfth House, that sector in the Horoscope where unconscious forces beyond our control seem always ready to swallow us up. This is the place where the Ego-Egos of this world are not anymore in charge, but we found ourselves on a rudderless boat, guided by the wind of fate, if you believe in it, or by pure chance and cruel acts of Nature, if you don’t.

Another Planet very prominent in Transit is Neptune, who has reached the square to its own position in Haiti’s Birth Chart, a significant aspect, entailing the need for this country to find a new spiritual dimension and fresh ideals. Due to the fact that the Natal Sun of Haiti was in semi-square to Natal Neptune, the transiting Neptune is now in semi-square with Haiti’s Sun too. This means that the Natal Sun (as well as the Sun during the Lunar Eclipse) is now mid-point between the Natal and Transiting Neptune, another remarkable coincidence, reinforced by the fact that the Transiting Eclipsed Moon (January 1) was also in aspect to Haiti’s Natal Neptune (sesqui-square or 135 degrees); the transiting Eclipsed Sun (January 15) was in sextile aspect with the same; the transiting Neptune was in sesqui-square to Haiti Natal Ascendant; the Ascendant of the Lunar Eclipse’s Chart and the Mid-heaven at the time of the earthquake were in opposition to Natal Neptune (more about this in my next post when I’ll discuss the role of the Star Algol, Medusa’s head, in these amazing events)! Too many to mention them all really.

Neptune was the God of Oceans and Rivers to the ancient Greeks. He was often referred to as ‘the Earth’s Shaker’, acknowledging the power of this God (Planet) in unleashing earthquakes, especially those that originated underwater, near the coast or on islands. Neptune in the Haiti’s Midnight Chart is found in the Second House, affecting therefore the country’s sense of security and financial standing. These Transits then could awaken both the positive and negative sides of this Natal position of Neptune. Positively the world may wake up to the need of Haiti for help on all fronts, and not only in the face of this disaster. Negatively these Transits may exacerbate the tendency Haiti has always displayed to base its financial security on shaky, unreliable, unrealistic, if not down right unlawful grounds (slavery comes to mind, as well as the corruption of the many dictatorships that have governed the country since independence).

I would like to add here the role of the Mid-heaven in some of these Charts. In the Earthquake’s Chart the Transiting Mid-Heaven is in square to the Natal Mid-Heaven of Haiti and opposed its Natal Ascendant; while the Mid-Heaven of the Solar Eclipse is conjunct Haiti’s Natal Moon in Leo.

Mars is also remarkable during these recent Transits for Haiti, retrograding over the country’s Natal South Node (past karma), semi-square Saturn, in both its Natal and transiting incarnations, exactly sextile Uranus during the earthquake and, of course, as remarked before, also activated in its Natal position by both Pluto (conjunction) and Saturn (square).

Jupiter, a Planet which is often connected to earthquakes on Earth, due to its gigantic size and gravitational pull, can be seen in this Four-Wheels Chart as applying to the opposition to Haiti’s Natal Moon at the Lunar Eclipse, being exactly opposite the same during the earthquake, from under the Earth (Midnight point) and just separating from it at the Solar Eclipse, before entering Pisces. One could write a book on these Transits and Haiti!

In my next post on Haiti I’ll explore the connection of the January’s Eclipses to Haiti via their Saros number, the number given to each teclipse to identify the group they belong to (Lunar or Solar occurring around the same degree of the Zodiac). This link to ancient eclipses and to the Constellations of the Sidereal Zodiac makes an intriguing and somewhat eerie astrological tale.

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Hundred Years of Soli-Lunar Eclipses 1900-2099, courtesy of dateandtime.com

The astrological Moon

The astrological Sun

my Dwads' Table

Work in progress: What the Moon on your birthday will bring to your year...